Personal Finance

Americans are more terrified of student debt than North Korea's Kim Jong Un

Key Points
  • Americans are more threatened by student debt than by Kim Jong Un, according to Millennial Personal Finance.
Students pull a mock 'ball & chain' representing the $1.4 trilling outstanding student debt at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Paul J. Richards | AFP | Getty Images

Americans fear student debt more than North Korea's Kim Jong Un, according to Millennial Personal Finance.

More than 56 percent of Americans think college debt poses a bigger threat to the U.S. than the North Korean leader, based on a survey of 1,000 Americans aged 18 and older, taken in September.

There is no question that student debt is on the rise. More than 44 million Americans have taken out loans to pay for college and their debt totals $1.4 trillion. For those in their 20s, the average debt is $22,135. For those in their 30s, it's $34,033.

"Kim Jong Un is a rogue dictator that will soon have the ability to attack the U.S. with a nuclear missile, which sounds a bit more pressing than student loan debt," said David Chen, the founder of Millennial Personal Finance.

Here's what a land war with North Korea could look like
VIDEO2:2002:20
Here's what a land war with North Korea could look like

North Korea's leadership told Russian lawmakers that it possesses a ballistic missile with a range of about 1,865 miles that will be able to reach U.S. territory after modernization, the Interfax news agency reported Tuesday.

The country is also widely expected to conduct another missile test within the next 10 days to mark two major political events.